Selected quad for the lemma: mercy_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
mercy_n	day_n	good_a	lord_n	6,259	5	3.9699	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A12182	Evangelicall sacrifices In xix. sermons. I. Thankfull commemorations for Gods mercy in our great deliverance from the papists powder-plot. 2. The successefull seeker. 3. Faith triumphant. 4. Speciall preparations to fit us for our latter end in foure funerall sermons. 5. The faithfull covenanter. 6. The demand of a good conscience. 7. The sword of the wicked. By the late learned and reverend divine, Rich. Sibbs. Doctor in Divinity, Mr. of Katherine Hall in Cambridge, and sometimes preacher to the honourable society of Grayes-Inne. The third tome. Published and perused by D. Sibbs owne appointment, subscribed with his hand to prevent imperfect copies after his decease.	Sibbes, Richard, 1577-1635.	1640 (1640)	STC 22491; ESTC S117285	286,033	622

the truth of the promises then the will and affections they joyne and imbrace those things the will makes choyse of them and cleaves to them the affection of desire extends it selfe to them the affection of love imbraceth them the affection of joy delights in them Spirituall conviction alwayes drawes affection For God hath framed the soule so that upon discovery of a good o●… of it selfe it doth stretch out it selfe to imbrace that object the good thing presented it cannot be otherwise We see the eye it cannot but delight in beautifull objects so the understanding of itselfe it delights in true things and the will in things that are good that are delightfully good or spiritually and conveniently good to the person it cannot but be so The author of nature God doth not overthrow nature but preserves it in its owne worke therefore where hee gives a light to discover and perswade both of the truth in generall and of our particular interest in those things hee gives grace likewise to the will and affections to that part of the soule that is carried to good things to imbrace them and upon discovery of evill in that part of the soule that is affected to evill there is an ave●…sation and loathing of things that are in convenient and ●…itfull it must needs 〈◊〉 in the light of reason We may know whether the spirit of God have wrought any thing in 〈◊〉 by o●… imbracing of good things for as I said Godhath made our soules thus when the soule 〈◊〉 convinced of the truth and goodnesse of a thing and isperswaded the affections will alway follow that that is shewed to be the best Now when the spirit of God discovers to the soule the excellencies of religion to bee above all other excellencies whatsoever That the favourof God is better than life itselfe and discovers to the soule the vanity of all other things then comes the soule to imbrace them for the soule cannot but 〈◊〉 which the understanding being 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 best and best for me in comparison of all other things this is now at this time all things considered best for mee to doe hereupon comes imbracing alwayes the affections follow spirituall perswasion There bee two maine branches of faith One is spirituall conviction and perswasion that things are so good and that they belong to us Another branch of faith is to goe out and close and meet with the things Vpon discovery of the excellency of the things the heart opens it selfe to let in those things It is in grace as it is in nature the heart is open upwards and pointed downeward 〈◊〉 the heart and soule of a man opens to heaven ward when those things are discovered by the spirit to bee best the spirit opens and closeth with those things A man may know what he is in religion by his affections by his affection of love for the affection of love will open to the things that are discovered to bee best whereof heeis perswaded and his affection of joy h●… will delight in those thing●… and his affection of griefe his heart will bee shut to things that are contrary and his affection of zeale in the p●…sute of the meanes and in opposing that that is an enemy to that good it is alway so the heart imbraceth what wee are perswaded of God hath made the affections of the soule for supernaturall things hee 〈◊〉 made our understanding to conceive of the heavenly light and those prerogatives and priviledges and hee hath made our affections to imbrace those heavenly things And then a man is in his right subordination in his right state under God he is framed as he should be he is in a right frame of soule when his soule is convinced of the excellency of the best things and when his affections of joy and love and delight of zeale and trust and all are set on those things For then a man is raysed above the condition of an ordinary man such a man is come to his perfection hee is come out of that cursed estate that naturally all are in for now the soule is set upon things that make it better than it selfe For the soule is as the things are it is carryed to when the soule is perswaded of heavenly things and of its interest in them and is carryed to them by the sway and weight of the affections of love and joy and delight which is called here im bracing then the things imbraced transforme the soule to be like them as they be heavenly and glorious and excellent there is nothing in the world to be named with them all else is ●…g and drosse then a man comes to bee holy and heavenly and spirituall hee is raysed in a condition farre above others above all othermen though hee bee never so meane in the world when his soule is enlightned and answerable to the light there is heate when there is light in the understanding and heate in the affections accordingly to imbrace then the soule is in a right temper a man is a holy and happy man therefore no wonder if upon perswasion and sight they imbraced those things Let us trie the truth of our estate by our affections by our imbracing of good things by opening our hearts to the best things by our joy and delight in them Is there a holy wonderment at them Oh! how I love thy 〈◊〉 and one day in thy courts is better than tenne thousand elsewhere and Oh the depth of his mercie and one thing have I desired of the Lord that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the dayes of my life When the soule stands in admiration of God and good things when it is ready to welcome Christ and heavenly things and the state of religion now away all former vanities away all lusts of youth away all confidence in beauty and strength and riches all these are but dung to the soule the soule hath seene better things there is a discovery of better things and now the respect of all other things falls downe in the soule when there is a discovery of better things The soule cannot doe otherwise when it is convinced supernaturally the same spirit that discovers better things opens the soule to ●…low them it is so with every soule that hath the true worke and stampe of the spirit in it it is set upon heavenly things it saith with Saint Paul I account all dung and drosse in comparison of the excellent knowledge of Christ. There is an attractive a drawing magneticall power in heavenly things when they are propo●…nded to the soule by the spirit to draw the affections and to make us spirituall like themselves Let us therefore labour more and more to have our affections wrought upon As wee are in our affections we are in religion It is impossible that a Christian should be spiritually convinced that there are such excellent things belong to religion and that hee hath his part and

nature so wee make our selves twise dead a hundred times dead by sinne and bring curse upon curse by our sinfull conversation wee are then under Gods broad seale cursed Wee are all borne accursed til we get out of the state of nature to free us from which Christ became a curse if wee get not out of this but goe on and feed our vanity and corruption what will bee the end of it but an eternall cursr afterwards Therefore let us consider what we doe when we maintaine and cherish corruptions and abuses in our selves and others We build that that God hath cursed wee build that that wee have vowed against our selves And how will God take this at the houre of death thou that art a carelesse drowsie hearer of the word of God and a liver contrary to the word of God how will God take this at thee at the houre of death when thy conscience will tell thee that thy life hath beene a practise of sin a strengthning of corruption The old Adam that thou hast cherished it will stare and looke on thee with so hideous a looke that it will drive thee to despaire For conscience will tell thee that thy life hath bin a strengthning of pride of vanity of covetousnesse and of other sins thy whole life hath beene such and now when thou shouldst looke for comfort then thy corruptions which thou shouldest have subdued they are growne to that pitch that they will bring thee to despaire without the extraordinary mercy of God to awaken thy heart by repentance Why therefore should we strengthen that that is a curse and will make us cursed too and will make the time to come terrible to us the houre of death and the day of judgement How shall men thinke to hold up their faces and heads at the day of judgement whose lives have beene nothing else but a yielding to their owne corruption of nature and the corruptions and vanities of the times and places they have lived in that have never had the courage to plead for God that have beene fierce against God Who ever was fierce against God and prospered When men make their whole life fierce against God against the admonitions of his word and Spirit and their whole life is nothing but a practise of sinne how can they thinke of death and judgement without terrour Now it were wisedome for us to carry our selves so in our lives and conversations that the time to come may not bee terrible but comfortable to thinke of that wee may lift up our heads with joy when wee thinke of death and judgement but when we doe nothing but build Iericho when we raise up sin that wee should ruine more and more what will the end of this be but despaire here and destruction in the world to come You may shake off the menaces and threatnings of the Ministers as Hiel shooke off I●…suah's he was an austere singular man and it is a long time since Iericho was cast downe and God hath forgotten hath hee so hee found that God had not forgotten So there are many that thinke that words are but wind of men opposite to such and such things but though our words may bee shooken off now and the word of God now in the preaching may be shooke off yet it will not when it comes to execution When wee propound the curse of God against sinfull courses you may shake off that curse but when Christ from Heaven shall come to judge the quick and the dead and say Goe yee cursed that were borne cursed that have lived cursed that have maintained a cursed opposition to blessed courses that have not built up your owne salvation but your corruptions you that loved cursing Goe yee cursed to Hell fire with the Devill and his Angels for ever will you shake off that No no howsoever our ministeriall in r●…aties may be shaken off yet when God shall come to judge the quicke and the dead that eternall threatning shall not be shaken off Therefore I beseech you consider not so much what wee say now but what God will make good then What wee bind on earth cut of the warrant of Gods booke Shall be bound in Heaven and God will say Amen to that wee say agreeable to his word Thinke not light of that wee speake for God will make good every word hee is Iehovah he will give being to every word Hee is not only mercie but justice we make an Idol of him else and wee must fea●…e him in his justice He loves to dwell with such as are of a contrite Spirit that tremble at his word It is said of David that when Vzzah was stricken he trembled Hiel and such kind of persons regard not the threatnings of God but goe on and treasure up wrath It is a signe of a wicked man to heare the menaces and threatnings and not to tremble To end all with two places of Scripture saith Moses He that heares these things and blesseth himselfe my wrath shall smoke against him Gods wrath shall smoake and burne to hell against such a one as blesseth himselfe that knowes he is cursed under the seale of God that doth ill and yet hee blesseth himselfe in doing ill therefore take heed of that adde not that to the rest Gods wrath will smoake against such a one And you know what Saint Paul saith Rom. 2. If thou goe on and treasureup wrath thou buildest Iericho that thou hast vowed the destruction of Every time thou takest the Communion thou treasurest up wrath against the day of wrath For there will be a day of the manifestation of the just wrath of God and then these things will be laid to thy charge Let us every one labour to get out of the state of nature to breake off our wicked lives and to get into Christ the blessed seed and then we shall be blessed we shall be made free free from the curse of nature and of sin Let us renew our Covenants against all sinne and make conscience to bee lead by the Spirit of Christ that wee may gather sound Evidence every day that wee are in Christ and so out of the Curse THE SVCCESSEFVLL SEEKER In tvvo Sermons on PSALME 27. 8. BY The late Learned and Reverend Divine RICH. SIBBS Doctor in Divinity Mr. of KATHERINE Hall in Cambridge and sometimes Preacher to the Honourable Society of GRAYES-INNE 1 CHRON. 16. 11. Seeke yee the Lord and his strength seeke his face continually LONDON Printed by T. B. for N. Bourne at the Royall Exchange and R. Harford at the guilt Bible in Queenes-head Alley in Pater-noster-Row 1639. The Successefull SEEKER PSAL. 27. 8. When thou saidst seeke yee my face my Heart said unto thee thy face Lord will I seeke IN the former Verse David begins a prayer to God Heare oh Lord have mercy upon me and answer mee This Verse is a ground of that prayer Seeke yee my face saith GOD the heart answers againe Thy face

Lord will I seeke therefore I am incouraged to pray to thee In the words are contained GODS Command and Davids Obedience Seeke my face thy face Lord will I seeke Gods warrant and Davids worke answerable the Voice and the Ecchoe the Voice Seeke m●… face the rebound backe againe of a gracious heart Thy face Lord will I seeke When thou saidst it is not in the originall i●… only makes way to the sense passionate speeches are usually abrupt seeke my face thy f●… Lord will I seeke The first thing that I will observe from the inco●…ragement is that God shews himselfe to his understanding creature God begins you see seeke my face he mu●… open his meaning and shew himselfe first God comes out of that hidden light that hee dwels in and discovers himselfe and his will to his creature especially in the word It is our happinesse now that we know the mind and meaning of God What is the ground of this what need God stoope thus There is the same ground for it as that there is a God these things goe in an undivided knot God The reasonable understanding creature and Religion that ties that creature to God a discovery of God what that Religion shall be For in the entercourse betweene God and Man man can doe nothing except he hath his warrant from God It is extreme arrogance for man to devise a worship of God Doe we thinke that God wil suffer the creature to serve him as hee pleaseth No that were to make the creature which is the Servant to be the Master It belongs to the Master or Lord to appoint the service what Master or Lord will bee served according to the liberty and wisedome and will of his servant And shall ●…he great God of Heaven and earth bee worshipped and depended upon as man pleaseth or from any incouragement from himselfe shall not hee designe his owne worship hee that singles out his owne worke makes himselfe master in that therefore God begins with this command seeke my face and then the heart answereth thy face Lord will I seeke God must first discover his mind of necessity to the creature Scriptures might be forced hence to shew the dutie owing from the creature Man to God for the creature must have a ground for what ●…he doth it must not be will worship Infringit c. It is a rule it weakens the respect of obedience that is done without a cause though a man doth a good deed yet what reason what ground have yee for this and that wee may doe things upon ground God must discover himselfe therefore he saith Seeke my face It may bee objected that every thing proclaimes this to seeke God though God had not spoken nor his word every creature hath a voice to say seeke God all his benefits have that voice to say seeke God whence have we them If the creature could speake it would say I serve thy turne that thou mayest serve God that made thee and me as the Prophet saith the rod and chastisement hath a voice Heare the Rod and him that smiteth every thing hath a voice We know Gods nature somewhat in the creature that he is a powerfull a wise 〈◊〉 just God we see it by the works of creation and providence but if we should know his nature and not his will towards us his commanding will what hee will have us doe and his promising will what he will doe for us exce●… wee have a ground for this from God the knowledge of his nature is but a con●…ed knowledge it serves but to make us unexcusable as in Rom. 1. it is proved at large It is too confused to be the ground of obedience unlesse the will of God bee discovered before therefore we must know the mind of God And that is the excellencie of the Church of God above all other people and comp●…nies of men that wee have the mind and will of God what heere qui●… of us by way o●… dutie to him and what he will doe to us as a liberall and rich God These two things which are the maine are discovered what wee looke for from God and the dutie wee owe backe gaine to God these are distinctly opened in the word you see here God begin●… with David seeke yee my face Indeed God is a God of order in this subordination of God and the creature it is fit that God should begin it is Gods part to command and ours ●…o obey This point might be inlarged but it is a point that doth but make way to that that followes therefore I will not dwell upon it Againe in this first part Gods command or warrant seeke yee my face you see here God is willing to be knowne He is willing to open and discover himselfe God delights not to hide himselfe God stands not upon state as some Emperours doe that think their presence diminisheth respect God is no such God but he may bee searched into Man if any weakenesse be discovered wee can soone search into the depth of his excellencie but with God it is cleane otherwise the more we know of him the more we shall admire him None admire him more then the blessed Angels that see most of him and the blessed Spirits that have communion with him therefore hee hides not himselfe nay hee desires to be knowne and all those that have his Spirit desire to make him knowne Those that suppresse the knowledge of God in his will what he performes for men and what he requires of them they are enemies to God and of Gods people they suppresse the opening of God cleane contrary to Gods meaning seeke my face I desire to be made knowne and lay open my selfe to you Therefore we may observe by the way that when wee are in any darke condition that a Christian finds not the beames of God shining on him let him not lay the blame upon God as if God were a God that delighted to hide himselfe oh no it is not his delight he loves not strangenesse to his poore creature it is not a point of his policie hee is too great to affect such poore things No the fault is altogether in us we walke not worthy of such a presence wee want humility and preparation If there be any darkenesse in the creature that he finds God doth not so shine on him as in former times undoubtedly the cause is in himselfe for God saith seeke my face he desires to open himselfe but it is a point that I will not be large in We see hence likewise that Gods goodnesse is a Communicative spreading goodnesse That is peculiar to God and to those that are lead with the Spirit of God that are like him they have a communicative diffsive goodnesse that loves to spread it selfe Seeke my face I am good in my selfe but I desire to shine on you to impart my goodnesse to you If God had not a communicative spreading goodnesse hee